Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr shared a powerful story about the day God spoke to him and helped him save the lives of three people who were desperate and about to commit suicide.
A video of Carr’s testimony posted to Facebook Saturday has gone viral, with nearly a million views and more than 15,000 shares.
In the video, Carr explains why he believes it’s so important to be obedient to God, especially when the personal stakes are high. Carr said he was speaking at a large event with his brother where hundreds of people were in attendance.
At the end of the event, a pastor announced an altar call for his church.
“As clear as day, the Holy Spirit tells me, ‘Someone in here is going to commit suicide unless you say something,'” Carr recalled.
That’s when the NFL quarterback became conflicted: Should he really stand up during an altar call and announce that God told him someone in the room was going to try to kill himself?
He thought, what happens if it’s a false alarm and I look “silly” in front of a large crowd of people?
“I know what I’m supposed to do, but I’m trying to question myself because that’s a big step,” Carr said. “That’s a lot of obedience to step out there and do that.”
Then the football player mustered up some courage and interrupted the pastor, grabbing his microphone.
Watch Carr tell his story:
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“I said, ‘Someone in here, it got so hard, to where you are going to end your life and you are going to kill yourself and commit suicide tonight. And I’m just here to tell you that Jesus loves you, that I love you, that He has a plan for your life.'”
Suddenly, a man in the crowd pointed to himself, Carr said.
The quarterback began to tear up. He called out, “Is it you?”
The man said, “Yes.”
Carr recalled: “He came up and he was bawling his eyes out, just standing there. And I was able to hug him and tell him how much I loved him. And tell him how much God loves him, how much Jesus loves him, how much of a plan God has for his life.”
But that wasn’t the end of the story. Not even close.
Carr prayed with the man, gave him a hug and then turned around.
That’s when he spotted his brother praying with a young man who was crying profusely. Another person had been contemplating suicide that evening.
“We were able to go over there and just love on him and pray for him right there,” Carr said. “And I was like, wow, two people. That was amazing!”
He continued: “I sat down. I never felt so exhausted. I’ve played football games all my life and never felt so exhausted. I sat there and I was just tired. For whatever reason, I was just exhausted after we prayed for them, and it was amazing.”
Carr then left the event and headed for the parking lot to get into his car.
“This kid who was just standing there, he had his phone out,” he said. “He was like, ‘That suicide thing you were talking about, that was me.”
The boy said, “I was going to kill myself tonight.”
Carr said he hugged him, too.
“I had never met these three people in my life,” he said. “And I just told him how much I loved him. I told him how much God loved him, how much Jesus loved him. And I just told him, ‘Whatever you’re going to do, don’t do that. Whatever you were thinking about doing, don’t do that – because God has allowed you to be here tonight to hear His message and to take a different path with your life.”
When he finally got into his car and left, Carr said he remembers thinking that he’s “never experienced anything like that in my entire life.”
And, of course, he gives all the glory for saving those three lives to God.
“All it was was being obedient,” Carr said.
